At this month’s Art Hop, Fresno State art student Tyler Alcé curated the “Down With The Clique” art exhibit, celebrating the work of local Black artists.
Alcé is a member at Scarab Creative Arts and worked with Heather Hubbard to create a space to celebrate Black artists. Alcé wanted to use her platform as a member and share the space with other artists. After speaking with Meta Schettler, program coordinator for Africana Studies, the sponsorship was set up and Alcé began searching for artists.
“It felt like there were so many distinctive styles that were coming out with this group of artists, that more often than not we chose to keep each person’s art altogether,” Hubbard said. “The general theme was to just celebrate African-American artists in our community and raise awareness.”
“Down With The Clique” was sponsored by Fresno State’s Africana Studies Program, and was hosted at Scarab Creative Arts. The exhibit displayed the work of 17 local Black artists and was paired with a DJ set performed by DJ Divine Femme. Throughout the night, the exhibit also featured a spoken word performance by Garfield Spencer and an interactive djembe (traditional hand drum) performance by Abdullatif Tounkara.
Audia Dixon, a Fresno State alumni, pieces “Diptych Playtime” and “Little Meghal” were among the more prominent works on display for their eye-catching use of “My Little Pony” dolls as a visual motif, in addition to the sheer size of the canvases. These pieces have very dreamlike feelings to them and capture themes of youth and endless possibilities.
Dixon cited Meghan Markle and her departure from the royal family with Prince Harry as the inspiration for “Little Meghal.” She saw this moment, the first time a woman of color was officially recognized as part of the royal family, and became inspired by the idea of young women of color soaring higher than they ever imagined.
“It’s kind of like me showing the possibilities of a young, Black girl becoming an actual person in that role,” Dixon said.
Alcé reflected on her youth through her ceramic sculpture “Essence,” which was inspired by feelings of insecurity towards her physical features at a young age. She thought back to a time where having an afro was considered a sign of being “poor” for not getting a perm, and pushed back against this perception by making “Essence” have an afro as a prominent feature.
“Essence” subject has her eyes covered by the afro, and her nose and lips appear ambiguous, symbolizing a transcendence from the status quo.
“Essence” embodies pride and a sense of confidence, and connecting to a higher being rather than listening to whatever everybody else is trying to say,” Alcé said.
Aside from the inspiring visual art, one of the major highlights of the night was the djembe performance by Tounkara. He directly involved the audience by passing out various shaker instruments for spectators to play along and explained the lyrics for a call and response.
Through this performance, Tounkara wanted to teach attendees about the history of djembe music that otherwise goes untaught. He explained that Africa has always been filled with diverse cultures since its earliest civilizations, but djembe music was a common thread that united them all.
“There’s more diversity in Africa than China and India combined,” Tounkara said.
The origins of djembe truly came to life as visitors at the exhibit, strangers or not, all danced, sang and smiled together.
On an Instagram post leading up to the event, Alcé called it “a celebration of resilience and brilliance within our community.” The brilliance behind each piece spoke for itself and the hard work and dedication of each artist was visible with every paint stroke, sculpture and lyric.
“Down With The Clique” covers a vast range of styles and mediums with artwork from: Alesis Sims, Ariel Duffy Jr., Audia Dixon, Britney Holman, Cedes Calhoun, Dakari Cleveland, Denise Williams, Julian South, Kambrya Bailey, Kristen Stain, Melanie Glass, Taylor Martin, Tyler Alcé, Savannah Miller, Sekani Radellant, Shaq Michelle, Shirley Jackson, Sydni Weller and Vanessa Addison-Williams.
The exhibit showcases local Black artists at their best and is a great way for the city of Fresno to celebrate the start of Black History Month. The exhibit will be open for the rest of the month, and it is a must-see for those who want to support the community.
